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Psamtik

(Encyclopedia)Psamtik sämˈtĭk, sămˈ– [key], Lat. Psammetichus, d. 609 b.c., king of ancient Egypt, founder of the XXVI dynasty. When his father, Necho, lord of Saïs under the Assyrians, was defeated and kil...

Niobe

(Encyclopedia)Niobe nīˈōbē [key], in Greek mythology, queen of Thebes, wife of Amphion and daughter of Tantalus. The mother of six sons and six daughters, she boasted of her fruitfulness, saying that Leto had o...

Snefru

(Encyclopedia)Snefru snĕfˈro͞o [key], fl. c.2780 b.c., king of ancient Egypt, last king of the III dynasty; predecessor of Khufu. Snefru began commerce across the open sea with Phoenicia, for the cedar logs of L...

Moeris

(Encyclopedia)Moeris mērˈĭs [key], ancient name of Lake Karun (Arab. Birket Qarun), c.90 sq mi (230 sq km), NE Egypt, in El Faiyum. The size of the lake is much reduced from that described by ancient travelers, ...

Creon

(Encyclopedia)Creon krēˈŏn [key], a name given to several minor legendary Greek kings. In the legend of Oedipus, Creon is the brother of Jocasta and after the death of Oedipus' sons becomes king of Thebes. In Eu...

Goshen, in the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Goshen gōˈshən [key], in the Bible. 1 Fertile region of Egypt occupied by the Israelites. 2 Region, S ancient Palestine, conquered by Joshua. 3 Town of Judah. ...

Amphitryon

(Encyclopedia)Amphitryon ămfĭˈtrēən, –ŏnˌ [key], in Greek mythology, son of Alcaeus. While betrothed to Alcmene, he accidentally killed her father, Electryon. Alcmene and Amphitryon fled to Thebes, but she...

Cairo geniza

(Encyclopedia)Cairo geniza kōˈrō gənˈēzə [key], archive of ancient Jewish manuscripts found in the synagogue of Fostat-Cairo, Egypt (built 882). In the 1890s western scholars visited the synagogue and remove...

Athenaeus

(Encyclopedia)Athenaeus ăthˌənēˈəs [key], fl. c.200, Greek writer, b. Naucratis, Egypt. His anthological work, the Deipnosophistae (Banquet of the Sophists), is a collection of anecdotes and excerpts from anc...

Djibouti, city, Republic of Djibouti

(Encyclopedia)Djibouti jēbo͞otēˈ [key], town (1995 est. pop. 383,000), capital of the Republic of Djibouti, a port on the Gulf of Tadjoura (an inlet of the Gulf of Aden). It is the nation's only sizable town an...